


Knowing it will be a Rainy Day doesn't Stop it

by KadinaruDess



Category: OMORI (Video Game)
Genre: Gen, Its hard to not just turn everything to dialogue, Some plan at all, Why did I write this in in-game font, Written half asleep in the midnight, if i wake up, will fix later when i wake up
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-28
Updated: 2021-02-05
Packaged: 2021-03-14 10:15:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 5
Words: 6,638
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29044455
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KadinaruDess/pseuds/KadinaruDess
Summary: Generic Psuedo-SI (Character given metaknowledge) Aubrey
Comments: 8
Kudos: 99
Collections: Quality Fics





	1. Prologue

“I’m sorry for taking so long…ah.”

The blond’s voice died upon seeing what was between the hands of a pink-bowed brunette.

The brunette herself was silent, expression hidden underneath unkempt bangs. As if not noticing the blonde that just entered the room, she continued flipping through the pages of a photo album.

The blond can only wince at the overbearing voice of the girl that just lost his trust.

“You once said that next to the camera, it was our memories in this album that was your most precious treasure…”

Aubrey finally faced Basil, with a stare so impassive yet radiating lividity. She pointed from one desecrated photo to the next.

“As its keeper, you were supposed… _to keep Mari alive for us_.”

It was a voice of utter disappointment, which hit straight to Basil’s heart. Yet no matter how destroyed Basil felt at that time, his face remained at an apologetic smile. Broken and self-destructive it might be, the blond kept at it. All for the sake of protecting the truth, for the sake of protecting his best friend.

At the sight of this… even Aubrey’s rage calmed a little bit. Reason finally catching up to the brunette, she attempted to restrain her anger at _the blonde who did nothing wrong_. This she did do barely, but at least she returned to stick to the script.

“I… no, we all took _her death_ hard. That I understand,” Aubrey dropped her stare from the blond and took another look at the photo album on her hands. “I can understand that in a fit of panic… you tried to run away from the problem. To erase her from your memories.”

Aubrey pulled up her bag, and slipped the album in.

“If you really regret doing that, you will not stop me from doing this. I will make sure to clean it up and protect it if you can’t do it yourself,” not anymore willing to look at the face of her former friend, Aubrey stood up and walked passed Basil to the door.

She paused a bit upon reaching the door, waiting for Basil to give any response. As the anxious and passive Basil is right now, however, Aubrey wasn’t surprised how she was replied by silence.

“I will return this when you have redeemed yourself to me. That’s a lot, because know that we can’t call each other friends right now, not after this. Not after _you attempted to kill Mari_.”

Aubrey hastily walked out of Basil’s room and went for the exit. She nodded to the caretaker from the last few drops respect she can give for that day, but after that she just ran.

Upon locking the attic hatch of her room, she immediately dropped her bag. Before dropping down herself, knees to the floor, where she broke down in silent sobs.

“I’m sorry… Mari… I… just can’t help myself to be angry…”

It just happened this morning, upon waking up, that Aubrey **knew**.

 **Knew** who scribbled the photos.

 **Knew** who threw the violin.

 **Knew** who…

…

Sunny… was just stressed out. It was… an accident. Basil…just tried to help. They… were just …twelve at the time.

But just because she understood, doesn’t mean she can get over her emotions.

Basil in the end of the day… still hung Mari. Picked up a child’s toy and convinced Sunny that putting it around Mari’s neck was the only option they had.

When Aubrey learned of this **knowledge** … Sunny and Basil… they were her best friends. While she sadly never got as close as the two ever did, she still believed that she knew the two enough.

So it was to her shock that her best friends managed to do something so… indescribable.

Aubrey tried to deny it. There was no way it happened. She had to disprove it wrong.

And so, despite the headache and greater ramifications of her new **memories** , she went on ahead with her scheduled study session with a blond friend Aubrey thought she knew.

But upon her new _perverted memories_ being validated…

Upon seeing the photos scribbled with marker ink…

Aubrey could only see red.

So red that she intentionally tortured Basil with her harsh words, packed to the brim with double meanings to strike directly at the guilt that haunted the blond. Just for the want of gratification, of exacting righteous vengeance against the one who hung Mari…

That she felt satisfaction from hurting a person that was once her best friend…

She wanted to puke.

Just how _broken_ had she become?


	2. Chocolate

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Aubrey had some hot chocolate.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Updated prologue a little bit. Not that much, but at least I don't hate my half-asleep self anymore.

A girl in a blue hoodie rode her scooter near the door of a church upon seeing a certain pink-haired girl exit its doors.

“Hey Aubrey, you up for some Gino’s?”

“Oh hey there Kim, how did your test go?”

“Eh… that damned paper drained all the sugar deposits left in my brain.”

“But you finished it anyway, right? Tell me how it went and I might have some money for a bag of sweets…”

The duo continued on chatting as they went over to the side of the church, where the pinkette’s own bike was parked at. Unlatching the lock, Aubrey mounted her bike and the two merrily gossiped as they rode out the church’s premises.

“So, Gino’s?”

The girl named Kim repeated as the two maneuvered their rides down the road. At this the pinkette faced a certain direction, and gave a long look in silence.

“Sorry, Kim, I have something to settle,” Aubrey answered distractedly. “Still, the old man there owes me a paycheck, use that to get another pizza for the guys. Or some sandwich.”

“Wait, all that congratulations and you aren’t even joining my post-test party?”

“It’s only the first day though. You still have few days to go.”

At this retort Aubrey gave a giggle, which Kim eventually returned.

“Anyway, I hearing that he owed you, maybe I should irritate him by ordering the sandwich. See yah, Aubrey.”

“Make sure to order the sandwich first for best effect! Also say hi to the boys for me!”

“Yeah, sure.”

After the two separated, Kim was too far away to notice how pinkette’s cheerful face dropped to a serious frown. The said girl closed her fists as she steeled herself, before riding down a certain path.

Eventually, the pinkette arrived in front of a familiar house. Externally, not too different from other houses in the cookie-cutter neighborhood that is Faraway Town, but even if Aubrey herself hasn’t been inside a lot of them, she **knew** that each had their differences.

This one’s biggest difference, however, is the sign up front. It was one that caught her eye during her ride that earlier morning, and subsequently took a part of her attention for the rest of the day.

It was a sign that signaled the departure of one of Aubrey’s best friends in the a few months.

Before that, Aubrey still believed that her **knowledge** can still be wrong, that the album indeed being scribbled was simply a fluke. Even when Sunny never again showed his face for years, she thought it was a normal thing to be shut-in after suffering pain that Aubrey knows is more than what she felt. Mari may be Aubrey’s idol…

But to Sunny she was a sister.

Seeing this sign painfully stomped all of those wishful thoughts down. Aubrey had the entire agonizing day to get it into her system that these **knowledge** are all true.

Aubrey gritted her teeth, angry at herself for wasting four years being in self-delusion. She thought she had grown after Mari’s death, but apparently she was no different from the other four.

It wasn’t like she didn’t do anything in the last four years. It was just… Considering how Kel himself, who had tried contacting Sunny for months but only managing to do so three days before Sunny left… Aubrey didn’t expect to succeed where Kel failed.

But still, only half-believing meant Aubrey wasn’t taking it seriously. This time, for sure, Aubrey was willing to take a step forward.

So she did. And knocked on the door of Sunny’s home.

“Oh, is that you Aubrey? I almost did not recognize you with that hair…”

“Good evening… umm yeah, this was an idea I had back then… M-mar… She told me she would want to see me, that I would look cute with this.”

_Gee, why did you bring Mari up immediately, stupid Aubrey!_

“Don’t worry dearie. I will have to say… M-ari is not wrong at that. You look very cute. Not to mention that outfit, oh my, is our little Aubrey having a rebel phase?”

“Uh… thanks for the compliment.”

Aubrey felt that the baby treatment, and Sunny’s Mom pinching her cheek, was worth sacrificing to escape the awkwardness earlier.

Aubrey definitely wasn’t pouting.

“Anyway, dearie… I can try to tell Sunny that you are here.”

Aubrey felt herself being hopeful, but clamped it down. Her heart still wasn’t ready for that.

“Um, I won’t mind. If Sunny’s not meeting me that is. We shouldn’t force him when he’s still hurting.”

“Aubrey, have anyone told you that you’re a very nice kid?”

Aubrey definitely wasn’t blushing. At that, Sunny’s Mom gave a light chuckle before continuing.

“Anyway, come in. Let’s talk about what brings you here inside, it’s getting dark.”

“Oh, sure.”

Finally, the heart of the matter. Aubrey composed herself internally, as she tried to remember the script that she prepared for this moment… which she partially failed as she was hit by nostalgia seeing the interior of Sunny’s house after a long time.

There were no cardboard boxes or anything. The move was still far away in the future.

“I saw the sign outside. Are you two… really leaving?” Aubrey asked when Sunny’s mom returned with some hot chocolate.

“Sunny and I will both miss everyone, but with all that happened…”

“I understand, it will be a nice to have a fresh new start. And I do hope you two safe travels.”

“Aww, you don’t have to worry about that yet, dearie. We still have to find our house a buyer, we will still be here for a few months. I’m sure you can meet Sunny within that time.”

Knowing how Hero was coming home from college and that Kel had no classes during those three days when clearly he was attending high school… those three days are likely to be during the next summer break.

“So, what brings you here, Aubrey?”

“Oh uh… The stuff at the treehouse. They are filled… of memories. Of all six of us… back then.”

“I see now, dearie. I imagine you want to keep some of them?”

“Yes please.”

Aubrey gave the most serious face of pleading she could.

“Well… there are some things there that we can’t just bring…”

At that point in time, Aubrey was sure that she and Sunny’s mom was thinking about the same appliances Kel brought there.

“But I guess I will have to ask Sunny for what he wants to bring. Can you wait, Aubrey?”

“Oh, please not this immediately, maybe later… for now… all I’m asking is if I can visit the treehouse every now and then? Relive the happier days… before I can no longer do so?”

“Oh Aubrey,” the girl in question definitely did not expect the sudden hug she received, “You shouldn’t be so gloomy, always believe that there are happier days ahead! We all will!”

At this the pinkette grimaced. With her **knowledge** … she knew there were plenty of spikes in the road ahead. Even in the best futures…

The hands squishing Aubrey’s cheeks certainly put a stop to those depressing thoughts.

“What did I just say? Don’t. Be. Gloomy. Now, repeat after me, my little rebel. Don’t. Be. Gloomy.”

“Dhont vhe gloowy.”

“Good little rebel.”

Even after being released from the woman’s hands, Aubrey felt that she left all of her pride there and now she had none left.

Still that doesn’t stop her from taking another sip to regain a little bit of composure.

“…so?”

“Ah, of course Aubrey you can visit the treehouse anytime you want. Well, maybe not now, it’s already dark, and I will tell Sunny about this first so that he won't be surprised that you are here. How about this Saturda-oh?”

Already having her pride shattered, Aubrey didn’t care about keeping her image up anymore, and jumped for another hug.

“Thank you very much. You don’t know how much this means to me…”

“Of course, my little dearie. Don’t forget, you will always be welcome to our home.”

That night, Aubrey returned home, eyes red from having cried more than she had in the last four years. Yet that night she also felt like the demons that had burdened her for the last four years has lessened.


	3. Stuffed Toy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Aubrey relived being a kid with her stuffed toy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A short one. Because once again this is written at midnight.
> 
> Also Fixed chapter 2. Because Aubrey despite being leader of a scooter gang has a bike, not a scooter. Maybe that makes sense, if they were a villainous organization the Boss should have the best.
> 
> Edit: Updated. No longer a short one, and kinda switched around the narrative. Not that more words meant quality. It's just I myself hate short ones.

Aubrey wanted to strangle herself from sheer embarrassment.

“Aren’t you quite early, dearie?”

What faced the pinkette was Sunny’s Mom just coming outside of the door. She was dressed up, and from the reusable shopping bags she was carrying, Aubrey can guess that someone was on their way for a weekend trip to the wet market.

An early trip at that.

Like, the sun hasn’t even risen yet.

If only someone did not arrive to bother Sunny’s Mom first.

“I… uh… l- last week, I said I would visit but… uh,” Aubrey started stammering, brain still muddled by embarrassment.

“I did get your message, something about a post-exam party?”

It was the next weekend after when Sunny’s Mom granted the pinkette permission to visit their treehouse. Indeed as she said, Aubrey couldn’t visit the treehouse the previous Saturday because the gang had a party to celebrate the end of a high school examination week. Aubrey already had to pass up several of their “inter-exam parties” after their school hours, so she just couldn’t afford to miss it.

“So because you don’t want to miss today’s visit, you ditched your morning routine and went straight right here, am I right, Dearie?”

And of course Sunny’s Mom did know of Aubrey’s jogging routine. Not surprising, this was a habit she began within the last four years, and Sunny’s home was included in her regular path. After all, she’d miss the “FOR SALE” sign if it wasn’t. Sunny’s Mom could just have seen her in one of those runs, a pink head wasn’t that hard to miss.

It just didn’t help diminish the embarrassment the pinkette was currently feeling.

…

_Wait, doesn’t that mean Sunny could also have seen her jogging-_

“It would be rude of me to shoo away such an excited child, wouldn’t it?”

The chuckles Sunny’s Mom gave indicates that she wasn’t too minding of Aubrey’s inconvenience. This did not however give Aubrey relief, and still feeling ashamed of bothering Sunny’s Mom so early.

“Would you like some breakfast, dearie?” Sunny’s Mom continued being hospitable to her. “We have some bacon and eggs leftover, I hope you are fine with that.”

“No need, ma’am! I mean, uh… I’m still full, already had my breakfast.”

Aubrey again was definitely not blushing. No, she wasn’t hearing more chuckles from Sunny’s Mom, that’s just her inner voice tormenting her. That’s definitely it.

There was no need to inconvenience Sunny’s Mom much further. In fact, “I can help with the shopping! I mean… yeah, I’m good at bargaining!”

What? It was a totally necessary skill for anyone who doesn’t want to subsist only on instant food.

“Oh dearie, no need to embarrass yourself even further,” The smile Sunny’s Mom was getting somewhat too bright for the pinkette to look straight at.

“Although there is one thing I can ask for you to do.”

“Oh?” Aubrey was starved for ways to avoid more humiliation so she took the offer.

“The treehouse hasn’t been visited for years now, and I am too old to go up those ladders myself.”

“Ah, so that place needs some cleaning up,” Aubrey… was a bit taken aback that she did not realize that the treehouse could be, well, dirty and unmaintained when it was fairly logical considering the current two members of Sunny’s household.

She **knew** it was already had its surfaces flaking, the carpet having bad wear-and-tear, and the walls overrun with vines, but her **knowledge** doesn’t really show everything as they are in the real world. Just a… _fictional_ representation of it. She doesn’t recall it being too dirty from her **knowledge**.

At that the pinkette realized that she shouldn’t be fully reliant on her **knowledge**. It gets the general strokes are as they are in reality, but they don’t fully show everything and can have minor inaccuracies like this.

“Can I leave that to you, my dear?”

“Of course, ma’am!”

And thus the pinkette was led to the backyard. If Sunny’s Mom noticed the pinkette intentionally ignoring a tree stump, Aubrey was glad that she didn’t comment.

“You might need some tools. You can get the broom the duster is by the storage room.”

“That’s very much appreciated.”

 _“_ Oh, and please watch out if parts of the floor is rotting! I’ve seen a person in the television getting their leg sliced to the bone by a nail when the rotting plank they were stepping on gave away…”

“Um…”

Aubrey did not need that mental imagery so early in the morning.

And thus the pinkette spent that Saturday cleaning up a room that appeared much more dirtier than what she **knew**. She didn’t mind though, as she was already used to doing the same in her own house.

She pulled up the vines that grew in through the few holes in the walls due to weathering and dusted from every surface, nook and cranny. She even replaced the origami plants by the windowsill. The toys and books she dusted and organized at the table, and even brushed up the carpet and a certain stuffed toy.

_Mr. Plantegg, oh how very much I missed you._

Most importantly though, was how she managed to clean up all the cobwebs. Which the entire ceiling had unbelievable amount of. Aubrey have swept out so many spiders out that even Hero would have given her a Spider Foot as reward.

It took her a few eventful hour to get the entire treehouse back into an acceptable condition. ‘Pristine’ may be too much, as a thorough cleaning cannot undo years of being left to the elements, but it was at least sleepover-friendly.

The pinkette knew this because… she actually fell asleep after sitting down in the middle of the room to rest. It took the sunlight going through some holes in the roof and landing directly on her eyelids to wake her up a few hours later.

“…a carpet? But I don’t have a carpet.”

When she did, however, she almost panicked when she realized she did not wake up in her bedroom. Before remembering in the next seconds remembering where she was.

 _Wow, half-asleep me can’t even tell the difference between this dilapidated room and my own room_ _…_ The pinkette somberly thought to herself.

After using her eyes to double-checking every corner of the room that she didn’t miss cleaning a spot before she fell asleep, she finally allowed herself to think of the primary reason she visited the treehouse.

Oh reliving the old memories was honestly part of her goal, but there was one thing she had to test with this visit.

The pinkette instinctively brushed off her skirt as she slowly stood up and walked to the windowsill. And looked closely at a curious section of the wall that she encountered when she was cleaning this part of the room earlier.

There was a squarish portion of the wooden wall that was brighter than the portion surrounding it. As if there was a cover that made the said portion undisturbed for quite a long time.

Aubrey **knew** this cover was a photo of _them six_ from way back then. A photo taken by Basil. A photo that showed her, Kel and Mari by the table after eating watermelon. A photo that showed Sunny and Hero reading books by the windowsill.

A photo that is not in the photo album in Aubrey’s bag.

Aubrey **knew** that the photo should have been stuck there, but when she visited the treehouse today, she didn’t find it there.

Which only meant one thing.

_Sunny should have hidden it._

And Aubrey knew it was because of the key she **knew** that was taped behind the said photo.

The pinkette initially wasn’t sure if it was Sunny or Basil, or the both of them, that locked up Sunny’s violin in the Toy Box and hid the key behind the photo. But at least this reaction proved that Sunny at least knows of it.

_I’m very sorry, Sunny._

And that Sunny was willing, or forced himself, to remember it when it was in danger of being discovered by someone else.

That someone else being Aubrey.

Aubrey wasn’t sure how much Sunny’s memories are suppressed, heck it was possible that right after hiding the photo, a cycle could have finished in his Dreamspace and he suppresses his memories again.

_I’m sorry, Sunny, for forcing you to remember_ _…_

Aubrey managed to force Sunny to recall and take action.

_I’m sorry, Mari, for making your little brother suffer._

At this the pinkette gritted her teeth, partially because of how angry she was at herself to be even doing this.

_But the future is cruel to Sunny_ _…_ _and in turn, to all of us._

She shouldn’t have to do this. To make a best friend that was running from the consequences of his actions as a kid to face them.

_Even in the so called “good ending”_ _…_ _he suffered a lot._

She ignores the inner voices that tell her that if she was a true friend, she should be shouldering the said best friend’s burdens instead.

_Sunny might not be ready to face his fears. Maybe never._

Because if she didn’t, she might as well leave Sunny to his cruel fate.

_But that’s what I’m here for._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> While our resident pinkette was asleep (CANON OMAKE):
> 
> WELCOME TO PINK SPACE  
> …  
> YOU HAVE BEEN HERE FOR THE PAST 2 HOURS  
> …  
> YOU DON’T REALLY KNOW HOW TO LUCID DREAM  
> …  
> SO YOU DREAM OF MEWO AND THE FAVORITE FIGHTING EACH OTHER  
> …  
> AND THE STAGE IS ON MERCURY RETROGRADE  
> …  
> OH, WAKING UP ALREADY?


	4. Keyboard

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Aubrey considers herself an amateur as a musician.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Updated chapter 3 to be no longer a short one, and kinda switched around the narrative. Not that more words meant quality. It's just I myself hate short ones.
> 
> Also, this chapter, unlike the rewrite, was written near midnight.
> 
> Update: Updated. Because the ending of their first meeting shouldn't be a cop out.

It wasn’t long before Aubrey’s Saturday visits became a habit. Well, it was her third visit today, and she doesn’t really visit every Saturday, but the pinkette had already made it mandatory that to herself to daydream only in the treehouse when she had plans to visit.

She doesn’t have the same photographic memory Sunny had, so she felt like her daydreams are most accurate if she surrounded herself with the actual nostalgic pieces of the past.

Outside of daydreaming, Aubrey also started to enjoy the weekly chat with Sunny’s Mom, she even actually helped with shopping the previous week, and spending time in the treehouse felt rewarding on its own. That’s why this time, she brought her work here as well.

_But most importantly_ _…_

It also wasn’t long before the next parts of her hodgepodge plan was enacted. If maybe a bit too much for her taste.

Because when Aubrey woke up in the treehouse today, she wasn’t alone. As standing by the table looking over the papers she brought along, was a certain black-haired boy.

Half-awake and not fully cognizant of the implication of Sunny initiating their first meeting in four years, the pinkette was not at all subtle at showing signs that she was indeed awake.

So when the boy heard the pinkette’s groan as the latter stretched out of an uncomfortable sleeping position…

“Please don’t!”

The pinkette reflexively shouted to the boy that was about to run. Her heart was pained when she saw the boy wince at her words, but she suppressed them as she forced herself to not miss the chance Sunny was still there.

“I mean, I won’t force you anything… Uh, yeah… can we just be here like the old times, lazing around and doing not much?” The pinkette is already rambling at this point, so she wasn’t expecting when Sunny responded, even if it was a nonverbal slowly pointing towards the papers on the table,

“I guess I do have to do something,” the pinkette was disappointed at herself for messing up an unexpected encounter she didn’t have a script for. Or rather, she did not expect Omori to show up so immediately, as her plans involved coaxing Sunny as she kept on visiting his home.

“I guess, I just missed seeing you… and everyone else. And those days back then…” In the end the pinkette just sighed, before deciding to be upfront and a bit more honest with her intention. “I’m not asking for much, not even a conversation if you don’t want to. Just please, stay for now?”

Bless the boy, Aubrey reflected, when she saw the boy was visibly tense as her stomach was broiling internally, slowly sat down on the floor. Close to the treehouse entrance, but at least he was willing to listen to her.

And at this sign of trust, Aubrey decided to respect the boy that needed distance, and sat down by the table opposite of the direction Sunny was at.

The pinkette was under pressure thinking of what to say next the entire time Aubrey was sitting down, but upon looking at the stoic boy again, she noticed him glancing looks at her hair.

“…Ah,” focusing her eyes on the pink hair she was now stroking with her hand. “You remember that rainy day, right, Sunny? When I revealed us girls’ plans to dye our hair?”

Aubrey gave an eye at the boy for any reaction… and got nothing. Either Sunny still had those happy memories suppressed that he didn’t really have a clue… or he was hiding his discomfort while talking about Mari very well. Not that Kel noticed when he spent those three days with Sunny… but she doesn’t trust Kel to be that sensitive.

“I did it, partially to keep her wishes alive. I feel like _Mari would have wanted_ to see me in pink hair.”

Aubrey saw the stoic boy mentally reeling at that, clearly feeling uncomfortable now., When Sunny quite hurriedly pointed his chin at the papers on the table, the pinkette was very willing to satisfy his wishes to change the subject.

“I’m preparing lesson plans for my students,” Aubrey was actually still quite shy about her main job, but remembering the older days she felt normal when Sunny was then one listening. “Oh wait- right, Tada! I’m now teaching foreigners online how to speak our language! I kinda have to, now that father… has left me and mum. But hey I can now buy my own pizzas!”

 _Nice save there, Aubrey,_ the girl thought as she tries better not steer the conversation back to the more somber topics.

Sunny’s brows frowned with worry, and this time Aubrey already knew the answer to the unsaid question. It was one that she was already expecting people to ask when they do discover her current career path.

“Oh, no, I didn’t drop school, I accelerated,” Aubrey scratched her head with a sense of pride. “Don’t worry, I’m actually a high school graduate now, unlike Kel and others.” With her… **knowledge** , she might as well be taking a master’s degree in college. “There was opportunity online, so I took it.”

That the pinkette was expelled from the old school she shared with Sunny, and that she did not go straight for university, went unsaid.

Sunny’s head slightly tilted upon hearing the name of their other best friend, and with that Aubrey also inferred the stoic boy’s next topic of interest.

“Yup, Kel’s still in high school. I haven’t talked to him much recently, but I do see him often playing with probably his clubmates at the basketball court,” Aubrey gets into a thinking posture as she continued. “As for the others… well, Hero went for university three years ago, and I haven’t heard of him ever since. I might have missed him returning for breaks. As for Basil… yeah, I’m no longer at school, and I haven’t seen him go out recently…”

As the two continued chatting, albeit one-sidedly, with Sunny more visibly comfortable just listening ( _just like the old times_ ) to Aubrey, the pinkette also felt less pressured and more open in narrating the most recent events in Faraday Town and out. The latest revelations in the Captain Spaceboy games and Sweetheart series, the new gaming consoles and newer gizmos…

She even managed to talk about Kim’s scooter gang.

Well, technically it was Aubrey’s gang now, but it was Kim that brought her into the fray in the first place.

At first Aubrey was quite cautious in telling Sunny about her new friends, but when Aubrey framed them as a rambunctious group of kids that might have ended up as bad crowd if Aubrey didn’t lead them anywhere (technically the truth considering what her **knowledge** portrayed they become had she been a different Aubrey), she saw more curiosity than jealousy or feeling left out on the boy’s face.

Stoic he may be, Aubrey had her fair share of experience teaching all sorts of people.

And that was how that Saturday went for the two traumatized hearts. Overall… a heartwarming day for people that quite deserved it. Aubrey even managed to snag a dinner with both the members of Sunny’s household that evening, if a bit flushed spending most of the night with the implicit teasing that the two teens suffered from Sunny’s Mom.

But all good things must come to an end.

“Seriously, though… Thanks a bunch, Sunny.”

The pinkette told the boy that was seeing her out as she got back to her bike. The pinkette had her eyes focused on the bag she was tying to the rear of her bike, but she felt the boy’s eyes on her back.

“I know… it was hard to even approach me. Like, I could easily be a different person when you talked to me… Heck, my hair dye probably didn’t help.”

After having made sure that all her stuff was secured, the pinkette looked back at the boy with the impassive face, and gave a bright smile. Aubrey didn’t know if it was her imagination or not, but she saw Sunny blushing.

“Just know that all of us are still here, and you can approach us anytime,” channeling her inner Hero, she continued. “We all may be grieving… in various degrees, and that might be a harsh barrier between us… but isn’t that moreso the reason we should stick together?”

_What a load of bull._

…Although, in the face of the long silence Sunny responded to Aubrey’s inspirational speech, her eventually mask broke. And shattered to a snort and then teared giggling.

“Okay, the Hero in my head said that so much better,” the pinkette embarrassingly admitted. “This Aubrey is just not that kind of cheesy, I’m afraid.”

“Just don’t forget we are still here. You may be leaving in a few months, but that’s only means we have to make more memories together now!”

_How about you tell yourself those words?_

Another snort and set of giggles.

_Hypocrite._

“Okay, I’m stopping now, I’m just degrading myself,” the pinkette finishes herself up before the two end the night with even more awkwardness. “I’m just happy that we’re, like, connected again, Sunny. And I hope you are too.”

_The only reason you can talk to Sunny is right now because you **know** he’s suffering much more than you. If it wasn’t for that pity, you’d hate him, as much as you hated the others for leaving you._

And so thus, without looking back, Aubrey left Sunny’s home and rode back to her house.

_You even said it yourself, just because you understand, doesn’t mean you can get over your emotions._

At least it was already dark, that nobody can see Aubrey’s mask shatter even more.

Back in her attic room, Aubrey sighed _._ And hoped that Sunny will also a relatively good night in his dream world.

She also pulled a small portable keyboard out of her bag. Sunny didn’t see it, but he should have heard a familiar piano piece coming from the treehouse that morning.

From her **knowledge** , during the boys’ sleepover at Sunny’s house, Sunny heard the piano playing. Her **knowledge** portrayed it as Sunny’s hallucination, but Hero suspiciously entering the same piano room after Sunny did, convinced Aubrey it was actually Hero that was playing the piano. Especially with how Hero broke down in the piano seat afterwards.

Aubrey felt _dirty_ and _guilty_ , pulling the same trick this morning to attract the black-haired boy’s interest.

But she however, pray tell, can’t deny that it worked.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WELCOME TO PINK SPACE  
> ...  
> YOU HAVE BEEN HERE FOR THE PAST FEW HOURS  
> ...  
> YOU STILL DON’T KNOW HOW TO LUCID DREAM  
> ...  
> SO YOU DREAM OF ROCOCO HAVING DRAWN MUTANTHEART  
> ...  
> IT WAS TERRIBLE, BUT SOMEHOW THE PAINTING HAS THE SAME MOVING MOUTH  
> ...  
> OH, WAKING UP ALREADY?
> 
> I initially thought Lost At A Sleepover was the perfect piece for Aubrey to play. After all... it's what Dream!Aubrey played.
> 
> But then... What if that tune was all in Omori's head? When Hero played the piano... Mari taught him that and therefore that tune was played in the real world.
> 
> If Lost At A Sleepover was all in Omori's head, then it would be very very suspicious if he hears it in the real world. Sure, he can still be convinced it's a hallucination, but I think it's less effective.
> 
> Anyway ramble over, this chapter was brought to you by seeing that video with all the keyboard performances at Space Exhusband's place. And the 30-minute loop of Golden Vengeance.
> 
> Oh I didn't say what she really played? In my headcanon its still Lost At A Sleepover.


	5. Hero Sandwich

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Aubrey once deliberated whether the nickname “Watermelon” suited her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Updated Chapter 4. Because the ending of their first meeting shouldn't be a cop out.
> 
> Also, this chapter is another first draft (I'll just call it this way).

It was the average yet fun few hours after the school has ended and before the sun had set. Aubrey and the gang was back in their usual table in Gino’s.

“…and then Master decimated his enemies bringing home the medallion of champions!”

“Hmph, of course who could expect less from I, the Maverick!”

There was the two of the most excitable members of the group, Angel and Michael, former retelling latter’s exploits earlier the day.

“…wait that’s not right, you have to be kidding!”

“Not to be offensive and all that, but I have to agree with Kim. The world must be ending.”

Then there was the siblings, Kim and Vance, who didn’t seem to believe that a close acquaintance of theirs to actually have a talent on something unexpected of him.

“Worry not, Vance, for I, the Maverick, myself did not expect such power hidden in me! The curse of ignorance, I truly can’t escape you!”

“…so it’s a fluke?”

Then there’s the gentle and usually soft-spoken Charlene.

“Et tu, Charlene?!”

“That’s not true, Master spent countless moons and winters perfecting his art!”

“But then he’s not really ignorant of his skill, is he?”

“Come on you guys, stop bullying the champion. He’s the one paying for this celebration after all.”

And lastly, there’s the leader that bound the entire group together, even if the person herself wasn’t aware of it.

“I mean, he won by the cooking competition using snails. Oysters and clam, I can understand, but snails? Must be delicious enough that the judges can get over their fears.”

“Wait, Aub, don’t tell me you actually want to try it?”

The only spectacled girl in the group was genuinely afraid for the pinkette, but at this Aubrey only pulled out a school magazine cover showing in the cover the photo of a certain platter with colorful creamy sauce that form a double spiral shape through juicy escargots.

“Sure, why not. The presentation is sick.”

“Finally, someone who understands the masterpiece that I, the Maverick, has brought into being with my own hands!”

While the group had a little special circumstance to spice up the day, it was still an overall regular scene in Gino’s as of recent years. Not every day as even Aubrey’s multiple jobs can’t pay for that luxury, but around twice or thrice a month.

What was irregular that day, was when the door opened behind Aubrey, and from it she heard a very familiar voice.

“Remember Gino’s? Man, I’m up for a Hero sandwich right now.”

And it definitely wasn’t Sunny’s voice, although Aubrey just knew that Sunny’s eyes are staring right at her pink hair.

“Ugh, it’s the loud nerd again.”

“Once again, why do you call him nerd, isn’t he the sports junkie?” Vance retorted at Kim’s groan of frustration.

“Because he’s the teacher’s pet.”

“We don’t have those. He’s just naturally that nice. Too nice.”

Aubrey tried distracting herself by listening to the siblings argue, but she was not ready for another voice to join in.

“Haha… We really haven’t been here in a while, haven’t we?”

It was a nervous voice coming from a ball of anxiety Aubrey knows very much so.

“So what’s your order, Basil?”

At that… Aubrey’s mind blanked.

Considering how Aubrey’s pink hair is already pretty obvious as she learned from Sunny’s Mom, she thought it was also possible that Kel would have seen her recent visits to Sunny. So Kel himself visiting Sunny was a matter of time.

What the pinkette wasn’t ready for… Was meeting…

“Oh, Aubrey’s here too!”

“Shut it nerd, we’re celebrating here and your voice is ruining it.”

“What did I ever do to you, Kim!?”

“Kill my ears by noise pollution, that’s what!”

_Be distracted, be distracted, look at how Kim and Kel quarrels, it’s just like you and Kel-_

“…Ah, Aubrey.”

With the voice being right behind the pinkette, she realizes that she can’t delay the inevitable any much longer.

So she sighs, and turns around.

“Kel, Basil… and Sunny,” Aubrey greets the three with a nod, each by looking at them in the eye as she called out their names. The pinkette opens her mouth to follow up… but nothing comes out. Instead she had a stare at the silent stoic boy at the back of the three.

Sunny’s face was stoic as usual, and Aubrey did not see if he actually understood the tension between the four old friends… but she hoped at least he had, before Aubrey turned back to her friends.

_This, Sunny, is the barrier between us that I was talking about._

“…Yeah, she really changed a lot in these four years,” Kel had a little irritation in his voice, but also with a bit of pity. “Although, you would know about that, won’t you, Sunny?”

“…Huh? Sunny would?”

“Oh Basil, let me tell you a tale of a certain someone visiting his prince every…”

Eventually the three walked too far to the other side of the room that their voices can no longer be heard.

Although Aubrey was angry at the lies that she suspects Kel is telling Basil right now… she calmed down and slightly thanked the fact that she won’t be confronting Basil much more than she already did.

“You okay, Aub?”

Aubrey turned back and saw the other five people at her table, visibly concerned. At this… the pinkette’s worrying heart melted to appreciation.

“Of course she isn’t. Look at Basil ignore her, even after all she did for him-!”

“No need to get angry, Vance.”

“You sure, Aubrey?”

 _Huh, even the Maverick is willing to go out of character for this? Just how worried are they- oh_ , the pinkette paused as she felt something wet roll down her right cheek. _Ah_.

“It’s my own fault anyway,” wiping the tear quickly, Aubrey bounced back to her cheerful self.

“But-“

“No butts, please, don’t be so disgusting in front of pizza.”

”She’s right, that’s so not cool,” the man that owned the place chimed in as he walked down to serve the pizzas that was reserved for the gang to eat. “These pizzas will taste bad if you talk disgusting around it.”

“Shut up lame man!”

“Sheesh I’m just too cool, and you kids are just jealous. Seeyah!”

At least he gets that Kim wasn’t really being malicious with her sharp tongue. _Just a little angry and_ _… hungry?_

_Huh, Kim’s a cat._

“He got you there, Kim.”

“Bu-what! He didn’t!”

Eventually, Aubrey managed to forget about the three as she tried to keep Gino’s from exploding from her gang just acting naturally.

She even almost missed Sunny’s party leave… if it wasn’t for Basil obviously having an internal struggle whether to confront the pinkette or not, the entire time the three walked out of Gino’s.

_At this rate_ _… they’d be fighting me for the photo album, aren’t they?_

Aubrey knows that the current events are partially following what she **know** will happen in those three days. Sure, not as fast and not as accurate, as with Basil being here today already confirmed…

But still too fast than Aubrey wished for.

_But there’s no turning back now._


End file.
